Love Sans Limit

The Rose and the Breeze

2008-04-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

To the Rose said the Breeze.
“Don’t lace me with your fragrance, please.
It makes my heart so tender, that I wonder,how will I ever go away.
Your love touches me to the core, just be there and say no more”

The Rose protested
“How can I be a rose and not be a rose?”
But the Breeze was adamant.

Love relents to no one but to the beloved...and that’s where his might turns into his plight.
One night, the Rose tried to curb his fragrance
and petal by petal closed itself.

Next morning when the Breeze came there was no fragrance to welcome her.
She searched all around, and the Rose was nowhere to be found.
Only a lump of crumpled petals and few thorns...having the last laugh.

Expression is to love what fragrance is to rose.
If you curb one, you kill the other.

Don’t leave me

2007-08-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

A feather
torn from the wings,
mid air.
The airborne wanderer
at the mercy of winds.
forsaken by sky,
unwanted on land.
A flight of fancy
and its sad end

Sometimes
I think the unthinkable
And my frightened hands
grope in dark
seeking your hand.

Don’t leave me
even in my worst nightmare

और भी गम हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा

2007-08-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

मुझ से पहली सी मोहब्बत मेरे महबूब न माँग

मैंने समझा था कि तू है तो दरख्शाँ है हयात
तेरा ग़म है तो ग़म-ए-दहर का झगडा क्या है
तेरी सूरत से है आलम में बहारों को सबात
तेरी आँखों के सिवा दुनिया में रख़्ख़ा क्या है
[दरख्शाँ:shining हयात:Life]
[ग़म-ए-दहर : sorrows of the world]
[ आलम: world सबात: permanence]

तू जो मिल जाए तो तकदीर निगूँ हो जाए
यूँ न था मैंने फक़त चाहा था यूँ हो जाए
और भी गम हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा
[निगुँ : Change फक़त: only वस्ल: union/meeting]

मुझ से पहली सी मोहब्बत मेरे महबूब न माँग

अनगिनत सदियों के तारीक़ बाहिमाना तिलिस्म
रेशम-ओ-अतलास-ओ-कमख्वाब में बुनवाए हुए
जा-बा-जा बिकते हुए कुचा-ओ-बाज़ार में जिस्म
ख़ाक में लिथडे हुए ख़ून में नहलाए हुए
[तारीक़ बाहिमाना तिलिस्म: dark dreadful magics]
[रेशम:silk; अतलास:satin; कमख्वाब:brocade]

जिस्म निकले हुए अमराज़ के तानूरों से
पीप बहते हुई ग़लते हुए नासूरों से
[आमराज़ : diseases, तानूर: ovens]
[पीप:pus, नासूर: ulcer]

लौट जाती है उधर को भी नज़र क्या कीज़े
अब भी दिलकश है तेरा हुस्न मगर क्या कीज़े
[दिलकश: heart-winning]

और भी गम हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा

मुझ से पहली सी मोहब्बत मेरे महबूब न माँग

Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Sleep

2007-05-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

While you sleep,
and I dream,
Love awakens.

The sea of silence,
rises and falls,
with your each breath
The compass of time melts
The past, present and future
lose their grip on me

I
The wanderer in the ocean of love
feel utterly lost
Yet I find you
here
there
everywhere.

The polar star of hope
shines
dim, yet distinguishable,
amid crowd of sparkling emotions

I wonder why I love you so.
I wonder how I came so far
How did this fragile sail,
made of fabric of dreams,
withstood the winds of uncertainty

I wonder why I feel,
that no matter what happens,
this boat won't sink
before I reach you
at the harbor of Ithaca
where I drop the sail of dreams,
still intact,
and set my feet on the grounds of reality

Till the wet sands of shore touch my feet
sleep my dearest,
wrapped in warm soft blanket of my love.
Sleep
in the cozy embrace of certainty
that I'm destined to you

May 31st 2007

Life belongs to dreamers

2007-05-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

In a seed,
curled
A flower smiles.
Fragrance of an unborn future escapes
Enticing me
to stake a claim

Dream.
A fragility
Unfurled
moves in the night's womb
My eyes
A childless couple
adopt it.

Heavens proclaim
Life belongs to dreamers

May 29th, 2007

कभी कभी

2007-05-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

कभी कभी मेरे दिल में ख़याल आता है

कि ज़िंदगी तेरी ज़ुल्फ़ॉ की नर्म छाओं में
गुज़रने पाती तो शादाब हो भी सकती थी
ये तीरगी जो मेरी जीस्त का मुक़द्दर है
तेरी नज़र की शुआओं में खो भी सकती थी
[शादाब: happy, तीरगी: darkness, जीस्त: darkness शुआओं:rays]

अजब ना था के मैं बेगाना-ए-आलम हो कर
तेरे जमाल की रानाइयों में खो रहता
तेरा गुदाज़ बदन तेरी नीम-बार आँखें
इन्हीं हसीन फसानों में माहो रहता
[बेगाना-ए-आलम: ignorant of world, जमाल: beauty रानाइयों:elegance, माहो रहता: preoccupied]

पुकारती मुझे जब तलखियाँ ज़माने की
तेरे लबों से हलावाट के घूँट पी लेता
हयात चीखती फिरती बरहना-सर और मैं
घनेरी ज़ुल्फ़ॉ के साए में छुप के जी लेता
[तलखियाँ: bitterness हलावाट: deliciousness, हयात: existence बरहना-सर: uncovered head]

मगर ये हो ना सका और अब ये आलम है
के तू नहीं, तेरा ग़म, तेरी जुस्तजू भी नहीं
गुज़र रही है कुछ इस तरह ज़िंदगी जैसे
इसे किसी के सहारे की आरज़ू भी नहीं
[जुस्तजू: quest]

ज़माने भर के दुखों को लगा चुका हूँ गले
गुज़र रहा हूँ कुछ अनजानी गुज़रगाहों से
मुहीब साए मेरी सिम्त बढ़ते आते है
हयात-ओ-मौत के पुरहौल खारज़ारों से
[मुहीब : dreadful, पुरहौल : terrible, खारज़ारों : thorny wastelands]

ना कोई जादाह ना मंज़िल ना रोशनी का सुराग
भटक रही है खलाओं में ज़िंदगी मेरी
इन्हीं खलाओं में रह जाउँगा कभी खोकर
मैं जानता हूँ मेरी हमनफ़स मगर यूँ ही
[जादाह: narrow opening, खलाओं: emptiness हमनफ़स friend]

कभी कभी मेरे दिल में ख़याल आता है

Sahir Ludhiyaanvi

The flower and butterflies

2007-05-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

Deep in the woods a strange flower bloomed. The sun shone on its petals resplendent in vivid colors. The winds carried its sweet scent all over. The butterflies woke up from their dream world. They all frolicked around the wild gathering nectar from the flowers.

A butterfly followed the scent and reached the strange flower.
“May I taste a little nectar that you have cooked”? Asked the butterfly
The flower said “You are welcome my dear. Drink your fill while I shower your wings with pollen that I need to send across to other flower”.
“I’m not your house maid”..
“No free lunch..its give and take”.
“You are selfish..you are fake” said the butterfly and flew away.

The flower smiled and waved a good bye. Soon another butterfly came by.
“Have you got some honey”?
“Come on in.. honey”.
The butterfly tasted the nectar and liked it. The flower caressed its wings ..they were soon in love. The butterfly asked
“Would you always be there when I need?”
“If I do how would I turn into seed?”
“but you said you love me..”
“I do but that love can’t kill me.. I got to shrink into a seed”
“Damn liar..soon you would burn in fire”..The butterfly flapped its thin wings in anger and flew away.

The flower shrugged the dew from its petal. It was sad but it hardly mattered.
Another butterfly came by..
“I’m drawn by an irresistible scent”
“Come on in.. before I’m all spent”
“Wow I like the tatse”
“Enjoy yourself..its all yours..what’s the haste”
The butterfly took a sip and said..
“Can you please close the door”
“If I do I’m flower no more”
“but you said you are all mine”
“Yes I’m but can’t you let me shine”
“You cheat..wither in heat”

The flower was really sad. Such a short life and how could it go so bad. The sun was scorching its petals..testing its mettle. The flower cried.

Then came a butterfly and asked the flower
“Don’t cry. Smile”
“I’ll but can you stay for a while”
“What have you got for me”
“little nectar..honey”

The butterfly came in and sipped little nectar left in the flower. Then it sat still..they talked. The flower told the story of other butterflies. The butterfly lent a sympathetic ear. The flower now had no fear.

It said “I told truth and was called a crook.”
The butterfly laughed and laughed and laughed.
“You fool..If butterflies could stand your truth they wouldn’t be butterflies”.
“But I can’t dish out lies”

They were friends..Butterfly stayed overnight..snugged in cozy little flower. As the morning came the flower started to feel weak. Its petals started to give way. It shrunk and shrunk into an ugly little crumpled heap. The butterfly wasn’t ready to lose such a precious friend.
“Do you need a helping hand?”
“No..this is my end”

But that was not to be..The flower had been touched by the flying spirit of butterfly. Soon it turned into a seed and the seed had tiny hairy wings. As the entire wild watched in amazement the seed wafted across the wild seeking a new home. The butterfly wasn’t far behind.

As the evolution continued the flowers mastered the art of luring the butterflies with ephemeral beauty. The butterflies remained unaware but the term butter up became synonymous with flattery and lies. It’s a different matter that the winged seed design became quite successful in evolution and many species of plants use it today, to spread their dominance in the wild.

Like morning breeze

2007-05-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

(1)
I want to be
Like the morning breeze
Blowing through the almond tree
In the first month of Autumn

No, its not just the soft touch
I want to shake your being
I want to blow away
the dead leaves of a beautiful past
which clings to you
I want prepare you for the spring
which is waiting at the doorstep

the gifts of glistening sun rays
The color
the splendor
the red leaves sprouting through every pore
I want to bring
The spring
to your core

(2)

the butterflies have shrugged winter hibernation
the storks have arrived
flying across nations
the birds
the nests
the bees
the buzz
the songs
the life
everything that was buried under snow
the world awaits you
I want to dress you up
In a thousand blooming flowers

And I want to do it
again and again and again
Every spring
Till autumn breeze blows though the beautiful valley.

(3)

I’m just a desert wind
Indivisible, inaudible, purposeless
Piling the sands of moments
In useless sand dunes
Shifting them from one place to another

I’m searching for the sound of rustling leaves
I’m searching for the sweet intoxicating fragrance
I’m searching for a visible, audible and purposeful existence
I’m searching for you
jan 9, 2007

What remained unsaid?

2007-05-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

My eyes played with the broken dream,
As the oyester silently endures the pain
of that prickly sand,
And turned it into a pearl
A pearl which I forever searched
The smooth touch of your love

In the warm embrace of your arms
In the fragrance of your locks
I shivered like the palaash tree
in first monsoon rain

What just fell from my eye,
was a pearl,
was a flower of palaash tree,
was just a tear drop,
but a dam was burst in my heart

See it made even your eyes moist
what can I say, What remained unsaid…

Jan 7, 2007
http://www.anubhuti-hindi.org/nayihawa/k/kamlesh_pandey/ab.htm

Serendipity

2007-05-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

Serendipity!
I never understood the word
until you enacted it

I didn't search for you
Because I didn't know you existed
and Google's "I'm feeling lucky"
doesn't work unless you feel lucky
Which, unfortunately, I never felt
until I found you

Paths cross
They have to,
The world is a small place

But who knows
We may be going in opposite directions

Or you may race ahead
While I trudge off road.

Or we may keep walking on parallel roads
Never far away
Never close enough
To hold hands

I know it so well that
I can't summon the ignorant bliss
Of my first crush
The realities have sobered me

Still
When I see bogies of that freight train
Entwined in their encumbered journey
I feel that it is good,
that we are not bound by the same fate

but we are free
to choose
to accompany each other
in a journey that becomes more important than the destination

Or to wish good luck to each other
in hot pursuit of our own mirages
and say goodbye

Or to hold hands
and choose a third direction.
Rarities of life are rarely found on the beaten tracks.

Jan 5, 2007

When she says goodbye

2007-05-07T02:12:00.003-07:00

When she says goodbye
Don’t cry
Feel the stolen gems in your pocket
smile
Breath her fragrant memories
Close your eyes
paint her face
on silver screen of you consciousnesses
Carry along
the imprints of that indelible song
play it
Again
And again

May be
after a while
You will realize
You have been doing this for months
slipping into your dream world
carrying her along
in thought form
night after night

May be
after a while
You will realize
that strange are the ways of life
here
Nor every night sees a day
But remember
Even when all is lost
all is not lost
what remains
is called
love

April 26, 2007

Don't go far off, not even for a day

2007-05-07T01:55:00.000-07:00

Don't go far off, not even for a day, because --
because -- I don't know how to say it: a day is long
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Don't leave me, even for an hour, because
then the little drops of anguish will all run together,
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.

Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach;
may your eyelids never flutter into the empty distance.
Don't leave me for a second, my dearest,

because in that moment you'll have gone so far
I'll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?

~ Pablo Neruda

Dream Deferred

2007-05-07T01:51:00.000-07:00

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

~ Langston Hughes

Contradictions

2007-05-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

When I think about you
With a level head
(a rare happening)
I find that as far as my eyes go
there is none
friend or foe
who is as special as you.
You can take it as a compliment.
But remember
For me
Its a statement of fact.
(Told you
I’m thinking about you
With a level head)

Let me ask you a puzzle
Tell me who is
strong and delicate
coy and brazen
razor sharp, sponge soft
placid and turbulent
unambitious and aspirant
hard working and lazy
rooted and dreamy
You know the answer
I know it too
the spirit of the word may not capture you
but you are so lovely
that I have no other option but to love you

And this love is as much a mark of my intelligence as of my craziness.
I seek you as much to light my own life as much to ignite yours

April 23, 2007

Daughter of the sea

2007-05-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasant evening
The palm embraced the breeze
With outstretched hands
On the white sands
waves wrote love

The squirrel said to the palm
“You crazy loner
Neither your outstretched hands
Nor your quivering fingers
No
nothing can hold
the sea breeze
listen if you please
that you can sway
you can pray
but she is daughter of the sea
was free, is free and will always be

The feeble sound of the rustling leaves will drown
you can fret
you can frown
but she is daughter of the sea
was free, is free and will always be”

At the dawn
The squirrel found
drops dripping
dripping from the fingers of the palm
the moist gift

The squirrel tasted the dew
The palm laden with love was quiet.

April 21, 2007

Darkest Poem

2007-05-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

The plums,
the grapes,
dandelions and daffodils
weren’t meant to color it.
The fabric of words,
woven in the confines of a lonely skull,
needed something more colorful.

Along came you

As if I found my lost color palette
And sheet after sheet
I painted words
blooming like rose
glowing like ambers
dripping like blood
smelling like wines.

It is fun
To see my world
With rose tinted glass
past, present, future
days and nights
everything colored.
It is fun
To see my poems blooming in the spring of love.

Alas
seasons change
I see horizons darkening
the eyes of storm focusing it deadly gaze at me
I look around the present and wonder what would left once you leave me
I picture myself
watching the trail of destruction,
the patterns emerging on ravaged ground,
the signs from heavens,
that my time has arrived

I picture myself,
picking up the darkest color from the palette,
and writing my last poem,
The darkest poem
so dark that the words would be lost in the veil of darkness..
so dark that no one would be able to read it..
No
not even you

May 7, 2007

Crazy

2007-05-07T01:47:00.002-07:00

She made me crazy
And then told me to be sane
I felt obliged
And became sane

In that full circle I realized
That nothing is saner than getting crazy
And if there is anything crazier than the quest to preserve your sanity
It’s the quest to preserve virginity

April 16, 2007

Tonight

2007-05-07T01:47:00.001-07:00

Tonight
A coconut fell past the rustling branches
A thud shook the earth
Squirrel woke up surprised

I told her its ok!
Go back to sleep
But it stayed awake
Looking at the crescent moon
As if wishing for a ride across night sky

Stars were hanging loosely on the outstretched fingers of the palm
A bat came close
Echo locating me
Then flew away

After few minutes of eerie silence
The Squirrel went back to sleep
The palm shook the stars back to their heavenly abode

I left the windows open
To mosquitoes
And slept a dreamless sleep

Overwhelmed

2007-05-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

Overwhelmed, the clouds gave up
rain waters ran down the hill
A swell swallowed sounds
And then!
When everything was swept away
In the valley of tear cleansed eyes
I saw you

Talking
As if hopping on the carelessly placed stones
We crossed the river of night
I imagined Venus drawing a star streak
A silver colored skip rope
I skipped a breath,
a heartbeat,
a night
I was in love and love was in hope
That it could skip anything
Including reality
I saw Dawn itching to paint the sky red
And then!
When the phone line went dead
In a moment of silence
I heard you

Wavering after waving you goodbye
Desire compelled me to look back
But you were gone
I remembered my childhood
Catching a butterfly
One timeless moment of togetherness
Of the captive and the captivated
And the gift of iridescent wing dust
Imprinted on my hands

Strolling aimlessly on an unknown road,
I was lost in reverie
And then!
When I saw iridescent dream dust floating in open eyes
Flouting the rules of broad day light
I realized
I touched you

April 14, 2007

That was Love

2007-05-07T01:43:00.000-07:00

How easy it was, to get carried away. The flood gates of emotions would have got shattered but a promise was at stake. So he remained calm, as if tip toeing on a field laden with landmines. He absorbed the radiance of that priceless smile. He listened quietly, smiling a detached but animated interest. Perhaps she guessed, perhaps she didn’t. That was love.
The games of chances weren’t lost to him। He knew it could very well be the last time he ever saw her. Separating from someone so close isn’t easy. It was like pulling the bandage from the wound. A bond as strong as clotted blood was being torn apart. But he calmly waved good bye. As if it didn’t matter much to him if they ever met again. Perhaps she guessed, perhaps she didn’t. That was love.

Like a glider powerless to contain its own momentum, powerless to steer its own course, powerless to sustain its own flight, he is living on the razor’s edge। He is thrilled, alive and he enjoying the moment. He knows that he has to crash in a forlorn wheat field. He knows that the wind beneath his wings is not his. He knows that someday she would be gone. He knows that for him there is no such thing like a soft landing. But he never forgets to thank her for every moment she is with him. He never asked her to stay with him forever. Perhaps she knows, perhaps she doesn’t. It is love.

No, what wasn’t easy to begin with, won’t get easier। He knows that the time is yet to put his love to the test. He knows that the sacrifice of his own heart awaits him. He knows that he has to do it with his own hand. He would do it but the trial of pain makes him nervous. If he flinched, she would know. If she knows she might sacrifice of her own desire and come along driven by a sense of responsibility. If that happens that would be his failure in the garbs of his victory. No, he won’t let it happen. He won’t let her know that it pains to see her go. Perhaps she will know, perhaps she will never. That would be love.

He knows that the life isn’t perfect। To be loved and to love are the two mutually exclusive choices that he is dealing with. It has been so ever since he learned what love was. He knows that the flights of fancy with one injured wing don't last forever. But now he has made his choice. He would love her whether or not he is loved in return. His love was hers and it will always be. Perhaps she would claim it, perhaps she won’t. Either ways, love is love.

April 8, 2007

You wished me love

2007-05-07T01:41:00.000-07:00

You wished me love
And it came!
Glued at the keyhole
Dreamy eyes
Soaked the first sight of the sun ray
The dark and lonely ice-age gave way
In a blink of eye
I saw seasons changing

Unprepared to receive it
Trying to deceive it
I remained where I was
The doorbell went unanswered
Slipped beneath the closed door
was an envelope

With trembling hands I opened it
And what a surprise!
Couldn’t believe my eyes
It was a plain white sheet
No words , No colors
A puzzled moment passed
Then it occurred to me
That’s how its supposed to be
That love stories aren’t written in heaven
God has played his part
gave me a heart
Now its me
And no one else
who would write my love story

At that moment I saw
Rainbows gleaming
Star lights beaming
On that plain white sheet
bit by bit, with colors of dream
I wrote my love story

And I wished you love
I’m sure it would reach you
May catch you unprepared
May slip an envelope
beneath the closed door

But don’t be surprised
There would be nothing in it
Just a plain white sheet

Because God has played his part
gave you a heart
Now its you
And no one else
who would write your love story

Perhaps I can’t
And for sure I don’t want
to influence
The course of a free flowing river
But I would wait for confluence
Of two original stories
A story that we can call our story

Feb 14, 2007

Earth is flat

2007-05-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

I want sit on that edge of the earth
With the world behind my back
My feet dangling in air
The entire cosmos
Visible like open book

There
I want to tell you
that the world behind my back doesn’t matter to me as much as you do

I know you wont miss the chance
To remind me
With a teasing smile
that the earth is spherical
and spheres don’t have edges and corners
But my dear
The white grey matter,
filled in my skull,
is spherical too
yet I have left a corner reserved for you

Jan 14, 2007

Keep stirring me

2007-05-07T01:28:00.000-07:00

Moon portrait on sky walls
Star decor
In dark halls
Dream calls

The eye doors
left ajar
Half open to dream
Half close to reality

Dream crystals
What good are they
Ruby to rubbish
All in a day

Help me keep dreams at bay
Keep stirring me

Jan 11, 2007

Uncaptured moment

2007-05-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

In the dream
I wandered in the jungles of amazon
and I saw a sun beam
filtering through the interstice.

The tallest of tall trees
and their interleaved canopies
couldn't block it
My share of light found me.
I felt warmth
I felt your faceless presence
like a sweet fragrance
I didn't reach out for my camera
A beautiful moment escaped uncaptured
So I thought
till I got awake
and found it engraved in my memory.

March 17th 2007

Lost amid words

2007-05-07T01:25:00.000-07:00

Lost amid words
were feelings which remained unuttered
meanings which remained unheard
Ensconced in moment of togetherness
I lived another night.

March 3rd 2007

Horizons

2007-05-07T01:23:00.000-07:00

"Don't limit your horizon"
she said and then like the rising sun
she poured molten gold all over the sky.
Moon looked pale
Stars were wiped clean
Horizons remained open to anyone
and closed to everyone,
at the same time

Jan 17th 2007

So late?

2007-05-07T01:22:00.000-07:00

I was playing with words
and she asked me to talk straight
I felt like asking"Why did you come so late?"

31 Dec-2006